In the last several years, TROY School has become a preferred choice for students with special education needs. Christy Garau, our Special Education Coordinator, meets with students and parents to design Choice Scholarship Education Plans (CSEP). CSEP’s include academic and social-emotional goals, and special education accommodations students can access to support academic progress. It’s notable that nearly half our student population at TROY receives special education services. The special education designations that are most common at TROY are Other Health Impairment (typically due to ADHD diagnosis), Specific Learning Disability (another way of saying learning differences in reading, writing, and/or math), Emotional Disorder, and Autism. While the special education designation may vary by student, how it challenges our students’ learning in the classroom is usually surrounding attention and concentration, time management, and emotional/behavioral dysregulation.
Some of the ways we meet diverse special education learning needs are: smaller classes, quiet workspaces, adaptive technology, case management, social skills groups, time management training, and reading text aloud.
Our smaller class sizes definitely make a big difference, allowing for more individualized attention many of our students need. Access to quiet workspaces, and the option to use headphones and music, help many students focus better. Weekly check-ins with case managers are also a great way we support students to stay on track and advocate for themselves.
Often overlooked, but profoundly impactful, is reading aloud to students. Whether it is a text for comprehension, a multi-step project, or testing, students who didn’t have adequate exposure to being read to in their early childhood, show marked improvement when teachers use read-alouds as part of instruction time.
What is the impact of special education services at TROY for our students? Many came to TROY discouraged by previous academic experiences of falling behind, becoming overwhelmed by workloads, and not having individualized attention to access academic content and develop study skills. These same students are now experiencing success, as reflected in their grades, and their attitude towards assignments. We have parents sharing how overjoyed they are that their child enjoys school again, or, for the first time!
How can TROY donors and fans support our students with special education needs? Many of our students are most successful when they have the opportunity for 1:1 time with a teacher or paraprofessional to work through challenging learning concepts and assignments. Your financial supports help Troy ensure we have the staffing needed to support students this way. Adaptive technology like noise-cancelling headphones, text-to-speech, and visual aids can also be cost prohibitive. Also, we LOVE providing opportunities for students to hear resilience stories of adults who have had challenges and persevered to achieve their life goals. If you received special education services as a student and want to encourage our students with your story of overcoming, contact us via email here. The more role models our students have, the better! Your story can have an incredible impact in their lives!
